Monday, 25 June 2012

It certainly been a very wet weekend, on Saturday anway when it never stopped raining. Mind you that is the story of June and with April 2012 being the wettest since records began where do we go from here?

No more hose pipe bans in many English areas, not too many people having to water their gardens either (or sit out in them). According to today's Independent "Britain was in recovery mode yesterday as workers cleared flooded areas hit by what is shaping up to be the wettest June in 100 years"

Apparently hundred of homes and businesses in Combria, West Yorkshire and Lancashire had to be evacuated. A month's rain has fallen in 24 hours.

The article says many properties could be uninsurable and unmortgageable as early as June 2013 (that is a year away) when the current insurance industry's agreement to provide affordable insurance expirres.(Statement of Principles).

If you live in an area that is affected by flooding (or could be) and are having problems getting suitable insurance, contact Neil Cook of Allstyles / T R Youngs Insurance.Follow this link for his contact info.

By the way, it is dry and sunny at Wimbledon today around 19 decrees C, however more rain due on and of from Tuesday onwards!

Friday, 15 June 2012

The first comes first comes from Rentguard Landlord and Tenant insurance. Apparently "Landlord insurance: short-term ‘on the up’"

Easyroommate has said that short-term lets have been on the up. The website has revealed figures showing that, during April, the equivalent of 41 per cent of the property that is now being advertised online using its UK site took the form of short-term opportunities.

This was a smaller 39 per cent back in November of last year. Also in April, live-in landlord insurance holders were responsible for close to half the short-term rental opportunities the site had listed – some 44 per cent of them.

Speaking about the benefits of short-term letting, the website’s Jonathan Moore said that it was a good opportunity for those who own homes to earn more money while avoiding a lengthy commitment.

He added that the organisation’s numbers “show that a growing number of [their] users are switching on to the freedom short term lets provide”.

Easyroommate says that the United Kingdom’s major cities are the locations where short-term renting most often happens.

According to its site’s numbers, London is behind most such listings. The capital is the venue for 21 per cent of the 6,029 presently advertised short-term rental opportunities.

Behind the city shortly set to see the Olympics come to town, other cites apparently offer significantly less choice to people looking to rent short-term.

Some two per cent of Easyroommate’s listed short-term homes are in Leeds, two per cent in Bristol, three per cent in Birmingham and threeper cent in Manchester.

Mr Moore put the fact that most short-term options are housed within major cities down “to increased numbers of people relocating for career purposes, and requiring immediate accommodation”.

Shorter options meant that renters could take a taste of somewhere new and not have to commit, he said.

Meanwhile, those landlords looking to rent out longer term have been reminded of the advantages of the student market, with ipsbmv.com’s Jon Ainge telling them: “Student property is one of the easiest ways for buy-to-let investors to profit from property.”

He continued: “It even takes away the need to research hotspot areas because all areas where there are large numbers of students to cater for will be hotspots.”

His organisation says that, because of demand, landlord insurance holders are consistently gaining significantly greater returns from student property when held up against commercial and residential alternatives.

Meanwhile HomeLet Landlord and Tenant insurance have just said "Tenants in London now paying 82% more than rest of UK".

The average cost of renting a home in Greater London is now a massive 82% more expensive than the rest of the UK, according to the latest HomeLet Rental Index

The report shows average rents in the capital rose by 0.8% in May to £1,187 per month. This increase means the difference between the cost of renting a home in Greater London and the rest of the UK reach is the largest it's ever been – according to HomeLet's data.

Other headlines from this month's report show:

In May the average UK rent decreased over the month by 1% to £760

Despite average rents being the cheapest in the UK, the North East saw more tenants moving away from the region than any other

The North East is the only region in the UK to see its annual rental figure decrease consecutively over the past three years

Wednesday, 13 June 2012

In a press release on the 11th June 2012, it was announced that Specialist Lloyd’s insurer Jubilee has been appointed by Blue Insurances, a leading provider of travel insurance, gadget, pet, wedding insurance and car hire excess, to provide gadget insurance and collision damage waiver (CDW) schemes for its Irish and UK customer base.

Jubilee’s appointment will see the insurer building on Blue Insurances existing gadget insurance product, launched in 2010, with an all risks scheme that provides customers with a claims replacement programme managed in Ireland by Jubilee’s claims service partner Outsource Services Group (OSG), an independent, Irish owned, specialist outsourcing firm. Jubilee’s CDW cover is offered alongside Blue’s travel insurance product providing higher limits of cover compared to its previous scheme, and also offers supplemental liability cover for North America.Joint Managing Director of Blue Insurances, Ciaran Mulligan, said: “Blue is recognised for its award-winning insurance solutions and innovative approach. Jubilee has demonstrated its experience and ability to respond to the challenge of delivering relevant protection that meets the evolving needs of our customers.” Commenting on Jubilee’s plans to develop new areas of business with Blue Insurances, Warren Campbell, Underwriter from Jubilee said: “We are looking to build on this foundation with a long-term partnership with Blue Insurances and OSG. By combining their experience, capabilities and skills with Jubilee’s product and affinity market knowledge, we aim to develop a successful portfolio in Ireland.”Dick Harnett, Head of Business Development, Sales & Marketing at OSG, said: “We share a passion and commitment with Jubilee to offer the best insurance services. We are delighted to have been appointed as their claims partner, and to be working together to build on these new schemes with others across Ireland.”

Tuesday, 12 June 2012

Getting away from the cold damp British or Irish "summer of June 2012" and going off on holiday to Greece or the Greek Islands sounds very tempting. With temperatures in the late twenties and pictures of the sun on forecasts and no mention of cold damp rain sounds really good.

Have just come across this press release from Essential Travel"Greece is the Word". At JML Property Services we have been promoting Essential Travel insurance - travel insurance and car hire excess insurance for a number of years so thought we would feature their 12th June Press Release on this blog.

"Online travel insurance and travel extras provider, Essential Travel essentialtravel. urges customers not to be put off travelling out to Greece on the back of current news reports and recent uncertainty but does recommend extra vigilance when checking the T&Cs of travel insurance policies.

Stuart Bensusan spokesperson for EssentialTravel.co.uk comments: "There are some great deals out to Greece currently with operators trying to encourage travel and given FCO advice there is absolutely no reason to avoid travel.For peace of mind check the fine print of your insurance to ensure that your policy covers third party insolvency, make sure it's ATOL protected and book with your credit card."

The FCO does stipulate that travellers should expect regular strikes - unsurprising perhaps given recent events. For added security we would urge Brits to purchase insurance at the same time as their holiday as they will only be covered against strike action if the policy is purchased before specific dates are announced.Notes to editors: Paying by credit card ensures that you are covered by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act of 1974.

Individual single trip insurance starts in Europe from as little as £6.94 for standard cover or £11.15 for superior.

Apart from the Spanish economic crisis, Euro 2012 football and the British Prime Minister's eldest daughter being left behind in a Buckinghamshire pub, last nights television news was covering the heavy rainfall in Britain.

After the west of Wales had been batterred over the weekend, it never stopped raining (yet again) in the south of England on Monday. The TV News showed images of people's homes and business damaged by flooding and unfortunately the weather forecast is not showing any sign of improvement with the tennis at Wimbledon not far off and what about the Olympics?

If you are living in an area that is liable to flooding you might find it is getting harder and harder to get insurance for your property. It appears that many companies will still insure, however the premiums are getting higher and the excess for any claim could be hitting the roof!

For many years experienced insurance broker Neil Cook has been finding insurance companies that will cover property in flood risk areas and where the excess amounts are not out of this world.

Remember even in the leafy Thames Valley your property could be near a river and when there is a lot of rain they have been known to overspill a bit!

Neil Cook can be contacted by following this link and it is worthwhile finding out what sort of price he can get for your insurance requirements.